“How is your heart?”

This question has been a loving invitation from my Heavenly Father to give Him my whole heart. An invitation to go into a deeper relationship with Him. An invitation for reconciliation over retaliation. A life of love over anger. An invitation to say, “I’m sorry” more and forget my record of wrongs done to me. An invitation to give Him the inner most depths of my heart. The depths I desperately want to hang on to out of pride and wanting to do it my way.

Even before I graced this earth, I was at the church every time the doors were opened. My parents devoted their lives to building the Kingdom and serving others, for which I’m beyond grateful. I started my relationship with Christ at the tender age of six. The church was our second home. There were many a Sunday we locked up the church doors, and I loved (almost) every second of being raised in church. I have no regrets. The enemy, however, is sneaky.

Somewhere between serving the Lord with my whole heart and growing in my relationship with Him, what was delight soon became duty. Before I knew it, a heart for him turned into a religious checklist. I was going through the motions. While on the outside I looked like a faith filled Christian, my heart had grown cold. Bitterness began to take root in my heart. This was reflected in my relationships. I was irritable, short tempered, sarcastic, competitive, and constantly trying to prove myself. I found myself wondering, “there has to be more than this.”

And, oh, my friends, there is. There is Good News, even for the good girl…and her checklist;).

Legalism is an age-old problem. Jesus addressed it in His Sermon on the Mount. From the beginning, the people of God have taken the Law and reduced it to a list of do’s and don’ts. A religious checklist, if you will. This was never what God had intended. From the beginning, even in the Ten Commandments, it’s always been about our heart.

Dear friends, please hear this with tenderness and love as a father addresses his beloved children; God wants our hearts.

In Matthew 5, as Jesus eloquently taught us how believers should live, he gently challenged the disciples and the crowd that it is still about our hearts. It all starts with our hearts. Out of the overflow of our hearts, spills our words and actions.

Our outward expressions are a reflection of our inward condition.

If Jesus has our hearts it will be reflected in the words we say and the way we interact with Him and others.

As I was preparing to speak at a student ministry service, the Lord beckoned me again…

“Erika, how is your heart?”

Over the course of the next several weeks as I studied and prepared His message for these precious students, the Lord began to do a deep work in my heart. He showed me areas that were in deep need of pruning and uprooting.

• • • To let go of the checklist and striving
    • To encourage others when I wanted to compare and compete
    • To pray genuine BIG blessings over those I wanted revenge
    • To care more about those I’ve offended than my own offenses
    • To say “I’m sorry” and own my stuff instead of making excuses
    • To go the extra mile whether I felt it was deserved or not

   

As I began to enter into the Lord’s invitation to give Him more of my heart, I was filled with joy, contentment, and peace. Because God’s love is lavish and rich; it cost Him His only Son. And when we give Him our hearts, we begin to reflect His big sacrificial love. It’s in this love we bring His Kingdom on earth.

Dearest friends, the same invitation is extended to you.

How is your heart?